September 18, 2009

Stroger says commissioners shouldn't have leaked probe documents

Cook County Board President Todd Stroger today suggested that commissioners leaked a confidential letter about an investigation into his administration’s finances.

And the board president, facing a tough Democratic primary on Feb. 2, said they shouldn't have.

"I just think some of them can't see the forest because of the trees and they don't always look out for what's good for the government," Stroger said.

Stroger was responding to news that county prosecutors have ordered Deloitte & Touche LLP, the county's auditors, to turn over "certain documents" pertaining to the 2008 audit of county finances. That's according to a memo from County Board Finance Committee Chairman John Daley (D-Chicago), who also heads the Audit Committee.

Deloitte personnel "may serve as witnesses to a current grand jury investigation," according to an attached letter sent to Stroger from Deloitte's Tracey Guidry.

On Thursday, before reporters obtained the documents that indicated the subpoena had been issued, Daley (D-Chicago) distributed them to the other 16 County Board commissioners.

Daley, according to the information he provided to commissioners, knew about the subpoena as early as Aug. 21. He said he distributed them because he believed “every (County Board) member should know.”

Stroger said it was Daley's job to inform the commissioners, but said "the committee members probably should have some confidentiality not to immediately call the press, but they are what they are."

Stroger declined to discuss the specifics of the subpoenas.

"I don't know what they want and I don't want to get in the middle of an investigation," said Stroger, who attended this morning's dedication of a new field house and playground on the South Side.

The Tribune reported that the subpoenas for county financial records are part of what sources said is a widening criminal investigation that began with questions about Stroger's hiring and quick promotion of a former steakhouse busboy.

The sources revealed the probe had broadened into questions about how the administration spent money and accounted for it.

Stroger, like most Chicago Dems, doesn't believe in transparent government. When he says, "I just think some of them can't see the forest because of the trees and they don't always look out for what's good for the government.", he means that they don't always look out for what's good for him. The pitiful thing about the statement is that it shows that he's so entrenched in "business as usual" that he doesn't even recognize the voters right to know how their government is being run.

All 50 aldermen on the Chicago City Council had to file paperwork earlier this year detailing their outside income and gifts. The Tribune took that ethics paperwork and posted the information here for you to see. You can search by ward number or alderman's last name.

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together lists of projected median property tax bills for all suburban towns and city neighborhoods. We've posted them for you to get a look at who's paying more and who's paying less.

Past posts

Clout has a special meaning in Chicago, where it can be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This exercise of political influence in a uniquely Chicago style was chronicled in the Tribune cartoon "Clout Street" in the early 1980s. Clout Street, the blog, offers an inside look at the politics practiced from Chicago's City Hall to the Statehouse in Springfield, through the eyes of the Tribune's political and government reporters.